Movies & Cinema during the Pandemic? Catch-all Discussion (1 Viewer)

[Wayne_j]

Bringing classics back to the big screen would bring me out but probably not nearly a sizable portion of the movie going audience.

 

[Tino]

I’m talking about in lieu of an absence of new films. Not permanently.

 

[TravisR]

So when theaters reopen, you think that audiences will suddenly go out to a public place that until recently they were told was unsafe, just to watch an old movie that they wouldn't have gone to see before?

I don't really think that's very likely.

It's going to have to be something new to bring people back.

I'd say that maybe a recent big movie like a Marvel or Star Wars movie could do some business and test the waters to see if people are willing to come back to theaters. However, I don't know if DIsney is interested in doing that since they want people to pay a subscription fee to see them on Disney + and also, how many people would go out to see a movie that they have access to Disney +?

 

[Jake Lipson]

I'm glad we're not the ones who have to answer these questions, because I really don't know how I would handle the reopening of theaters.

 

[Josh Steinberg]

We are conceivably headed towards a scenario where the federal government starts telling everyone that everything is fine and to go back out, while both medical experts and state and local governments insist that things are not fine and urge people to stay in.

I have to believe that the theaters are wary about this too. The last thing that business needs is a headline about one of their locations was the start of a local outbreak. That could be catastrophic for the business. I would guess that the bigger chains will be overly cautious and seek to stem their losses between now and then through insurance claims or bailout applications. Independent theaters may feel a financial burden to open earlier than the majors.

 

[Jake Lipson]

Independent theaters may feel a financial burden to open earlier than the majors.

My local arthouse, which is independently owned, is currently under city orders to remain closed. However, they closed voluntarily well before they were ordered to do so, which gives me confidence that they know what is the right thing to do. Also, they have received over $22,500 in donations/memberships/gift card purchases after the closure. That seems to indicate that at least here, we have a community that is willing to support the theater. But I think you're right; that would change dramatically if they reopen too early and there is a local outbreak. I'm eager to go back there, but only when it is actually safe to do so.

Meanwhile, the studios continue to delay their big movies. Warner Bros. just pushed Wonder Woman 1984 to August this morning. This indicates that the studios do not believe that audiences will be coming out in the short term. If all the big movies are delayed, there's really no point to theaters reopening because they would have nothing to show.

I absolutely believe that people will be eager to come back to theaters and share a communal experience when it is safe. But I also think they only have one shot to reopen, and if they do so before the right time, they are digging their own grave. I hope that doesn't happen.

 

[TravisR]

We are conceivably headed towards a scenario where the federal government starts telling everyone that everything is fine and to go back out, while both medical experts and state and local governments insist that things are not fine and urge people to stay in.

I think at that point governors will rein in the stupidity and insanity and keep people at home. On the plus side, I'd imagine corporations will see a potential for lawsuits if they were to open and be ground zero for a new outbreak and that will make them wait until it's actually safe to re-open.

 

[Walter Kittel]

I think at that point governors will rein in the stupidity and insanity and keep people at home. On the plus side, I'd imagine corporations will see a potential for lawsuits if they were to open and be ground zero for a new outbreak and that will make them wait until it's actually safe to re-open.

"I think at that point some governors will rein in the stupidity and insanity and keep people at home."

Just my observation based on the reporting coming out of some states right now.

- Walter.

 

[Colin Jacobson]

Swinging this back to Movies and Cinema, I have to ask, how do some of you watch these films?

Do you not watch films from the eighties and nineties without even subtlety noticing how many scenes in airports or office buildings would either need revision or be completely impossible due to post-9/11 restrictions? Or the casual behavior toward gay men and women that would be impossible today since the Stonewall and MeToo movements? Normal changed after those events.

Therefore to think everything will return to "normal" after a worldwide pandemic and market crash is fascinating and time will tell, but speaking for myself, there's no going back.

This is why my comments have asked "what does 'normal' mean?"

As I've stated, I don't believe that the world snaps back to pre-COVID ways without any impact. I just don't think the impact will be as immense as some believe.

Movie theaters will need time to get back on their feet, and people will likely be wary of them for a while. They may need to keep the "no more than 50% full!" rule for a period to assuage fears.

But that won't last. Might take a year or 2, but eventually people will revert to the old patterns.

We're not gonna "socially distance" forever!

 

[dpippel]

 

[Walter Kittel]

Re: post #90.

Ain't it the truth.

- Walter.

 

[TravisR]

True but at least I'm going through my backlog of NEW discs of movies that I've seen before.

 

[Josh Steinberg]

In a bizarre twist of fate, I have less time during the lockout than I did before. My movie pile remains untouched

 

[Chip_HT]

But that won't last. Might take a year or 2, but eventually people will revert to the old patterns.

We're not gonna "socially distance" forever!

Black Friday is gonna be the end of any lingering social distancing. Maybe not this year depending on how long the pandemic lasts, but definitely by Black Friday 2021.

 

[Colin Jacobson]

Black Friday is gonna be the end of any lingering social distancing. Maybe not this year depending on how long the pandemic lasts, but definitely by Black Friday 2021.

Lots of people are barely bothering to change due to COVID right now!

My college friend's 19-year-old son just completed basic training for Marines, and he went home for a week or so. He hung out with friends like there was no threat at all.

My friend says his son "doesn't care" if he gets COVID.

My friend had been very cavalier about the threat of COVID, and I suspect that's at least partly why the son is so unconcerned.

My friend is now more worried about it, but the damage is done, I suspect....

 

[DaveF]

<Moderator Hat on>

I'm going to be more direct and more "inside baseball" than is typical for the moderation staff, in hopes that in this unique situation, I can keep threads that I and others personally appreciate open longer.

We've got three or so COVID-19 / coronavirus threads going. These, in my opinion, are great to have. I find them interesting and useful and provide good information in a largely positive and encouraging manner. I think I'm not alone in this.

But HTF has its no-politics rule, and for good reason. And people are starting to bring more politics more frequently to these threads. I get it. This is a pandemic. It's a national emergency. And politics are deeply entwined in our personal, local, state, and federal responses. Politics is very tangled up in the conversations and the information flow.

But not in HTF. Not if we want to keep these threads open.

And I've got a crazy work schedule right now due to the crisis so I'm not "pulling my weight" right now in keeping on eye on these threads.

So, please, keep the politics out of HTF threads. Find another space in your life to process that side of it.

If you can't, these threads will get shut down. And don't misunderstand this as a moderator schism: I will supporting shutting them down. And don't take this as a way to get a thread locked you don't like: bad actors are at risk of thread or even forum bans for making making life even more difficult during an already very difficult time.

Thanks you for your help in keeping some good threads and helpful conversations going!

 

[Tino]

Lots of people are barely bothering to change due to COVID right now!

My college friend's 19-year-old son just completed basic training for Marines, and he went home for a week or so. He hung out with friends like there was no threat at all.

My friend says his son "doesn't care" if he gets COVID.

My friend had been very cavalier about the threat of COVID, and I suspect that's at least partly why the son is so unconcerned.

My friend is now more worried about it, but the damage is done, I suspect....

Very sad. And unfortunately indicative of many who risk infecting and killing others due to their recklessness.

Back on topic, whenever theaters reopen, hopefully new policies will be implemented to protect theater goers. More sanitizing stations, better cleaning of theaters, psa’s before every show etc.

 

[Jake Lipson]

Better cleaning? Maybe I'm just lucky, but I think my local theaters are usually very clean when I go in there. I've never visited one and thought it wasn't. By the end of the movie, there's popcorn everywhere and the staff has to clean before they can let in the next audience, of course. But I've never felt like the upkeep there was in any way deficient. Of course, that was all pre-coronavirus, but still. I've always been very satisfied with the theaters I go to in this respect.

 

[Bryan^H]

Back on topic, whenever theaters reopen, hopefully new policies will be implemented to protect theater goers. More sanitizing stations, better cleaning of theaters, psa’s before every show etc.

That will never happen. It's an expense that theaters don't have the luxury of. As far as janitors I saw an ad recently for $10 per hour 20 hours a week at my local theater. I would imagine these people won't give a damn about how clean the theater seating is. Their supervisor probably is maxed out at $12.50 per hour, so they aren't going to care either.

 

[Tino]

That will never happen. It's an expense that theaters don't have the luxury of. As far as janitors I saw an ad recently for $10 per hour 20 hours a week at my local theater. I would imagine these people won't give a damn about how clean the theater seating is. Their supervisor probably is maxed out at $12.50 per hour, so they aren't going to care either.

Perhaps smaller theaters. I was speaking primarily of the big chains like AMC, Regal, etc. and I think they will (and should) absolutely implement new procedures.